Bun B among top billed in latest Houston ad blitz

By David Kaplan |
January 23, 2013

Bernard 'Bun B' Freeman at the Underground Kings exhibit at the Museum of the Gulf Coast.
Photo taken Sunday, December 02, 2012
Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise

Photo By Guiseppe Barranco/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Bernard 'Bun B' Freeman addresses the media Sunday at the unveiling of the UGK permanent exhibit at the Museum of the Gulf Coast. Fans of the Underground Kings gathered at the event to see the rap star and the exhibit.
Photo taken Sunday, December 02, 2012
Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise

Photo By Guiseppe Barranco/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Bernard 'Bun B' Freeman, center, looks on with his family Sunday at the permanent exhibit at the Museum of the Gulf Coast. Fans of the Underground Kings gathered at the event to see the rap star and the exhibit.
Photo taken Sunday, December 02, 2012
Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise

Photo By Guiseppe Barranco

A mural depicting rappers Bun B (left) and Pimp C is painted on the side of a west Port Arthur building by Dez Woods.
Photo by Guiseppe Barranco

Photo By Museum of the Gulf Coast

Chad "Pimp C" Butler and Bernard "Bun B" Freeman of UGK.
Photo provided by the Museum of the Gulf Coast

A rapper, a ballerina and a host of top chefs are among the locals who will be featured in a new Houston image campaign launching next month.

The $425,000 promotional blitz targeting readers of the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and even Cooking Light magazine will feature a number of other artists and performers to capitalize on Houston's growing reputation as a regional culinary and cultural arts capital, city boosters say.

The "Houston Is" campaign will feature such notables as rap star and Port Arthur native Bun B, the Houston Ballet's Nao Kusuzaki and graffiti artist Gonzo247 in the largest effort of its kind in the city's history in terms of its national reach, said Holly Clapham, vice president of marketing at the Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau, the group behind the effort.

The decision to emphasize dining and cultural arts was based on a 2012 study done by global travel research firm TNS which found that among the cities with which Houston competes most directly for visitors - Dallas/Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin and New Orleans - Houston ranks No. 1 in the categories of "variety of dining options" and "cultural/performing arts.'

The print ads feature 32 Houstonians, most of whom are in the restaurant and cultural arts communities, in themed group portraits.

The campaign also highlights the city's ethnic diversity.

"Our research has given us the road map for how to speak directly to what travelers expect of Houston," said Greg Ortale, president and CEO of the visitors bureau.

Haley, who has worked on branding for countries and cities including Singapore, believes performing arts is a bigger draw for potential visitors than dining.

A dominant cultural arts position - even if it's just regional dominance - can influence a person's decision to visit a city, Haley said.

"A major show at a museum is a big draw, for example," he said, adding that people are less likely to visit a city because of its restaurants.

In a New York Times Travel section piece two weeks ago, however, restaurants Oxheart, Underbelly and Uchi were touted alongside the new Asia Society Texas Center and Museum District highlights like the Rothko Chapel in earning Houston a spot on the paper's 2013 list of "46 Places to Go in 2013."

"I have no doubt people will like certain ads more than others," said Clapham, of the visitors bureau.

"The beauty of the campaign is that it can appeal to different interests."

She said she will be able to analyze each ad when it runs, and if one theme does better than another she will be able to make adjustments.

The Houston Is campaign spun out of the visitors bureau's "My Houston" campaign launched five years ago, Clapham said.

The My Houston campaign included TV spots featuring such Houston natives as Beyonce, Lyle Lovett, Jim Parsons and the members of ZZ Top touting the city.

The Houston Is print campaign debuts in the Wall Street Journal on Valentine's Day, followed by ads in the New York Times and Texas Monthly.